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Debit Notes — User Guide

Debit Notes — User Guide

Module: Purchase
Audience: Accounts payable, procurement staff, finance managers
Version: 1.0.0
Last updated: 2026-07-22

Related: Applying debits from an invoice preview is covered in purchase-invoices.md.

Overview

A debit note records money owed to your organisation by a vendor — for example after a return, billing error, or agreed credit. You can apply the remaining balance to open purchase invoices, record a cash refund to the vendor, or void the note if it was created in error.

Prerequisites

Role Typical permissions
View debit notes Purchase Debit notes → View (or View own)
Create debit notes Purchase Debit notes → Create
Edit debit notes Purchase Debit notes → Edit
Delete debit notes / remove applied debits Purchase Debit notes → Delete
Record refunds, void, reopen Purchase Debit notes → Edit

Staff with View own see debit notes they created or notes for vendors where they are a vendor admin.

Step-by-step: View the debit note list

  1. Go to Purchase → Debit note.
  2. Use the filter menu to narrow by status (Open, Closed, Void) and year.
  3. Click a debit note number to open the preview in the right panel.
  4. Use the angle-double-left toggle to expand or collapse the preview pane.

Toolbar: New debit note appears when you have Create permission.

List columns: Number, Date, Vendor, Status, Reference, Amount, Remaining debits.

Step-by-step: Create a debit note

  1. Go to Purchase → Debit note and click New debit note.
  2. Select a Vendor (required). Line-item choices load for that vendor.
  3. Confirm the Number and Date (number uses your organisation prefix).
  4. Add line items — description, quantity, unit price, tax, and discount as needed.
  5. Optionally complete reference number, admin note, vendor note, terms, currency, and shipping details.
  6. Click Save.

Expected result: The new debit note opens in the list preview with status Open.

Step-by-step: Edit a debit note

  1. Open the debit note from the list.
  2. Click the pencil icon in the preview, or use row options → Edit.
  3. Update header fields or line items.
  4. Save the form.

Void debit notes cannot be edited from the preview (edit icon is hidden).

Step-by-step: Preview tabs and actions

Tab Purpose
Debit note Line items, totals, vendor and organisation details
Invoices debited Purchase invoices this note was applied to
Refunds Cash refunds recorded against the note
Reminders Scheduled reminders

Common actions:

  • PDF — view, download, or print
  • Email — send to vendor contacts (with optional PDF attachment)
  • Apply to invoice — when status is Open and invoices are available
  • More — refund, mark void, mark as open (void only), attach file, delete

Step-by-step: Apply debit note to invoices

Use this when you want to reduce what you owe on open vendor bills.

  1. Open an Open debit note in the preview.
  2. Click Apply to invoice.
  3. Enter amounts for each unpaid or partially paid invoice (same currency as the debit note).
  4. Click Apply.

Expected result: Selected invoices show a lower balance due. The debit note status becomes Closed when the full note amount has been applied or refunded.

Apply from a purchase invoice (alternate path)

When a vendor has open debit notes and an invoice is not fully paid:

  1. Open the purchase invoice preview.
  2. Click Apply debits in the warning banner.
  3. Enter amounts and confirm.

See purchase-invoices.md for invoice-centric steps.

Step-by-step: Record a refund

When the vendor returns cash instead of leaving a credit on account:

  1. Open an Open debit note.
  2. Click More → Refund.
  3. Enter amount, date, payment mode, and notes.
  4. Submit.

Refunds reduce the remaining balance the same way invoice applications do.

Step-by-step: Void or reopen

  • Mark void — available when the note is not closed, has no applications, and has no refunds. Use for notes created in error.
  • Mark as open — available on void notes to restore them to Open.

Step-by-step: Remove an applied debit

Removing an application requires Delete permission on debit notes.

  • From the debit note: open the Invoices debited tab and remove the application.
  • From the invoice: open the Applied debits tab on the invoice preview.

The invoice balance and debit note remaining amount are recalculated.

Step-by-step: Delete a debit note

  1. Open the debit note preview.
  2. Click More → Delete (when enabled).

You cannot delete a note that is Closed, has applications, or has refunds. The delete link is disabled with an explanation tooltip.

Important business rules

Status meanings

Status Meaning
Open Balance available to apply or refund
Closed Full amount applied to invoices and/or refunded
Void Cancelled; no balance actions

Currency

Debit notes can only be applied to purchase invoices in the same currency. Invoices in other currencies are hidden in the apply modal.

Vendor profile

Open a vendor record and use the Debit notes tab to see all notes for that supplier.

Field reference (common header fields)

Field Required Notes
Vendor Yes Drives item list and invoice apply targets
Number Yes Auto-generated; unique per year
Date Yes Debit note date
Currency Yes Must match target invoices for apply
Reference no. No External reference
Admin note No Internal only
Vendor note No Shown to vendor on PDF
Terms No Terms block on PDF

Troubleshooting

Issue What to check
Cannot apply to invoice Debit note must be Open; invoice must be unpaid/partially paid; currencies must match
No invoices in apply modal Vendor has no open bills, or bills are in a different currency
Cannot delete Note is closed, has applications, or has refunds
Email not sent SMTP must be configured in system settings
Remaining on list looks wrong Use the preview panel remaining figure; report discrepancies to support

See also

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